Hardly Anticipated
by CloverLR
Summary: Two African Penguins get dragged across the globe to New York when they get taken for animal trade. Able to get free from their captors, they are rescued and find themselves at the Central Park Zoo. With the help from the penguins we all know and love, will they get home? And when their father is conned by a certain dolphin, it only complicates matters further..EVENTUAL KOWALSKI/OC


**PLEASE READ:**

**A/N: Hey, guys! Lookie-lookie what I've got! Yep, a story. Finally! I've had this idea in my head for a while now and I've finally been able to write it. This didn't go exactly to plan, and I'm not 100% pleased with it. But I always have trouble starting a piece of writing off, which is probably why this isn't so good. Don't shoot me; it is my first story and the first chapter after all. And I _promise_ the next chapter will be better! And just to reassure you, yes, the next chapter will have the penguins in it for ****definite. **

**I'm not sure how long it will take for me to write the next chapter, or if it'll be shorter or longer than this one, but I'll try to fit it into my busy schedule.**

**Just to verify, this story will contain Kowalski/OC. Maybe a bit of Skilene, if that's what you want. So if it's not your type of story, then you're free to leave, but I hope you'll give it a chance. And I know Kowalski 'like-likes' Doris, and more on that will be later on in the story. It will not be 'love at first sight' because I know that annoys people, and it annoys me. So it will be a gradual romance.**

**Full summary will be on my profile, as well as full character profiles. Rated T for now, just in case. Rating may change, but only to K+ if anything. I own only my characters (Adia, Kaleb and Nadif) and the sub-characters in this chapter. Penguins of Madagascar (c) Dreamworks and Nickelodeon.  
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**P.S. This chapter is just the prologue; it introduces the characters and plot, and some background. Keep that in mind. Enjoy your read!**

_**Italics = Flashbacks, thoughts and emphasised words.**_

* * *

_**Prologue**_

_It was starting to get late in the southwest of South Africa. The moon was high in the deep blue sky, projecting a glow on the land fortunate enough to be showered by such a beautiful sight. A soft, fluent tide drifted in and out on a cosy, restful beach, the water reflecting the moons' stolen light. A light breeze swept over the tiny grains of sand, failing to cool the temperate air. Rocks and boulders were scattered here and there, inevitably making the beach area seem smaller. The silence wasn't at all frustrating – as some people feel about utter silence - as the waves of the ocean created a soothing melody; a lullaby. _

_Other than the odd passing airbourne, feathered creature, the only animals to roam the area at this time were the African Penguins. The penguins had made a home out of the beach a while ago; the perfect place to easily catch fish, build nests out of surrounding materials, and raise a family. The colony consisted of around twenty birds; not very many considering these were African Penguins._

_Many families were beginning to settle down, taking note of the time from the night sky. Some settled in nests littered on the sand, whilst others on rocks, and some in naturally made caves, depending on the number of penguins sleeping in one area. _

_In one of the caves, a family of three was starting to settle down. Or two of the penguins were, anyway…_

"_But Daaad! I don't wanna go to sleep!" a young penguin wined to his father. The male chick was quite skinny for a penguin chick, but not in a sickly kind of way; he looked perfectly healthy. He was short and had round, hazel eyes that held mischief and wonder. Chocolate-brown down feathers still covered a majority of his body, only molted on his front – his chest and belly – and face revealing his adult feathers that were coloured white and a dark shade of brown, seen from a distance as black. Spots were starting to show up on his front, but the band across his chest, in the shape of an upside down horseshoe, hadn't shown up yet._

_The chick was currently rocking his father back and forth, with his small flippers. The older male was facing away from his son, lying on his side with his eyes shut, wanting to get some shut-eye early, dreading being awakened the next morning at a ridiculous time._

_Anyone could spot that the two males were related. They both had very similar features, just that the older had sharper, stronger and more aged features. The parent was about double the height of his chick, and had lost all his down feathers a long time ago. The chick had obviously inherited his fathers hazel eyes._

"_Come on! I'm the birthday boy!" the chick carried on, gesturing to himself with his flippers whilst walking around his fathers' head to his face._

_The larger bird opened his eyes to look at his sons' pleading ones, before shutting them again and replying, "Not until tomorrow, you're not."_

_The short penguin huffed in annoyance, and looked away, knowing that his dad was right. He crossed his flippers across his chest and pouted. After a silent moment or two, the chick burst out, causing the father to wince at the loud volume, "But I can't sleep, Dad! How am I supposed to sleep when it's my birthday tomorrow? The anxiety is killing me-!"_

"_Kaleb!" _

_The young chick, Kaleb, stopped his rant at the sound of his name being called, and turned to his sister, unfolding his flippers._

_The female penguin was lying on the other side of the small cave, and, unlike the oldest penguin, she was facing the others. The female was a fully-grown penguin with sea-green eyes that she had inherited from her mother. She had no down feathers, just glossy adult feathers. Her eyelashes were delicate and long, adding even more feminism to her pretty face. Her beak was smaller than her fathers; the females usually had smaller beaks than the males anyway. She had a slim body with slight curves, her chest and belly covered with dark speckles, and a bold band across her chest in the shape of an upside down horseshoe, like all adult African Penguins do._

_A faint scowl was on her face as she ordered, "You need to calm down. It's your birthday tomorrow, we know," she spoke slowly as if she were talking to an infant, "That's no excuse to go all loony. It won't make your birthday come any quicker."_

"_Thank you, Adia!" the father of the two thanked his daughter, Adia, still facing the other way with his eyes closed, fatigue taking over._

_Kaleb relaxed himself noticeably at his wise sisters' words. He sighed and muttered, "Okay, fine. Sorry, guys."_

_His family responded with a simultaneous, "Apology accepted," smiling all the while._

_The young chick went to the edge of the cave, intending to get to sleep this time. The adult male shifted to look at Kaleb, and, noticing him curled up on his own, called out to him, "Hey, Kaleb."_

_The chick turned his head to look at his dad. "Yeah?" he asked, curious. _

"_Come here," the tall penguin beckoned, motioning with his flippers for the child to go to him. _

_Kaleb looked at him confused, but carefully stood up – curiosity getting the better of him – and waddled over. As soon as Kaleb was in flippers length, the parent used up his energy to pull his son close to him and menacingly tickled him. The chick immediately chirped up again, giggling excessively. Adia was watching the whole father-son moment unfold with a small smile on her face. As they calmed down, she noticed her father nod her over. She obliged and waddled over, her father pulling her and her brother into a tight, loving, family hug. They sat there in silence with content smiles on their beaks until they fell into a deep slumber…_

* * *

To think this was under twenty-four hours ago was almost too hard to believe. To think that this loving family had just been broken apart by some monsters was heartbreaking. A father had lost his son and daughter. They were taken from him by the beasts that walk on two legs, have no feathers and only a limited amount of hair, have no tails and wear odd pieces of fabric on their bare skin – humans.

Humans were the ones that took his beloved son and daughter. His son had wanted to go fishing on his own, seeing as he was a year older and seemed capable of catching at least a fish by himself. So his father let him, as a birthday gift. But he still was concerned for his safety. This _was_ Kaleb – he wasn't the brightest star in the sky. So he had sent Adia out with him, just to watch over Kaleb so he wouldn't get hurt. And as Adia was the colonies' medic, it seemed even more appropriate.

But when he went to check on them, he found them knocked out in cages, being carried away by two male humans. They put them in their van and drove off. He had slid after them as fast as he could, down the streets. But it was no use. They were gone…

The two humans had brought them, still unconscious from the sedative darted into them, to an old, abandoned runway where a single small plane that looked 'ride-able' had the engine on, ready to fly. The rider, a shifty looking man, gladly took the penguins off the two illegal animal traders and packed them in the back of the small cargo plane, in exchange giving them a bundle of money for their troubles.

The two men, who had originally taken the poor penguins illegally for trade, had left and the man in the plane was flying away. Away from the birds' home, away from Africa, and towards a place called 'North America', specifically 'Manhattan, New York'.

* * *

_**Adia's POV**_

Blackness. It was all I could see. And right now, it was all I wanted to see. I didn't want to know where we were. The last thing I remember before everything went black was the terrified screams of my brother, and the humans grabbing us tightly and shoving us in these inescapable cages.

I hate humans. I have had experience with them before; they come to the beach every now and then. They come to _our_ beach. _Our_ home. I don't see why they need to. All they do is lie there under the sun. Their young always chase us and bother us. And their parents just sit there. They let them do it. It's horrible.

I could feel the vehicle we were in moving beneath me. Where were they taking us? _Why_ were they taking _us_? Why my little brother and me? And on his birthday, of all days. Not that they would know that anyway. Not that if they knew that, it would have mattered.

Disgusting smells filled my nostrils. I didn't even know what those smells were, but they were revolting. Like… like something rotting. I quickly evaded those thoughts, not liking the idea of making myself sick.

My eyes were fighting their way open as I furiously blinked them open and shut to try and refocus my vision. My muscles were aching and when I tried to move them, all I could do was lie there. I couldn't move at all. They must have used some sort of strong sedative in those darts they shot at us.

Dad must be worried sick about us. I remember hearing someone shout our names in a deep African-accented voice – Dad's voice. He must have come to check to see how Kaleb was doing with his hunting, and found us being taken. Being stolen. Stolen away from him.

Tears soon found their way out of my tightly shut eyelids. I didn't like crying. It made me feel weak and childish. After our mother died, all I did was cry. I swore I had no tears left after that. I miss her so much.

My burning eyes started to focus as my tears slowly, and gladly, came to a stop. Through my blurred vision I could see more darkness. But this time there was a dim light casting an orange glow through the back of what I presumed was a small van. This must have been a different van to the one we were originally in. The one we were originally in was bigger; I had seen the van itself before blacking out.

The temperature was definitely cooler; I felt, as my senses began to return. I shuffled slightly on the cold, metal cage, crawling up to the bars. I gripped onto a bar; helping myself up with the little strength I had at that moment. I looked up to face another cage, very similar to mine, containing my baby brother.

My heart broke at the sight of Kaleb. The poor kid looked so terrified. He was in the far back corner, awake, curled up with his head in his flippers. He was shivering madly, but I knew it wasn't because of the cold.

"Kaleb," I called out. My voice wasn't much above a croaky whisper. It was then I realized that my throat was dry and craving the feeling of fresh water slivering down it.

Kaleb didn't vocally respond. He just lifted his feathery head and looked at me with his tear-flooded eyes. They looked empty, and lost. Just his tears were enough to make mine show again. He never broke eye contact. His hazel eyes having a pleading look in them, like he was desperate for me to get him out and take him home.

But I couldn't. And he knew that, too. But we _were_ going to get home. And soon. I would make sure of it. It's the least Kaleb deserves.

I wiped my face free of warm tears, determined to look past the bad and look to the good. "We will get home… I promise," I guaranteed, my voice stronger than it had previously been. Hope and relief filled Kaleb's eyes, and he did his best to smile at me, the smile coming out unsurprisingly weak.

It was all of a sudden that the cage I was trapped in was thrown against Kaleb's cage, causing a clash of metal to echo sharply. I held my head in pain, the sudden lurch causing my head to come into harsh contact with a metal bar. "Owww…" I whimpered, but was soon interrupted by another crash.

"Adi! What's going on?!" my young brother shouted over the chaos, speaking for the first time since we were taken; fear being obvious in his voice.

"I don't know!" I yelled back, pointlessly. What was going on?

* * *

_**Nobody's POV**_

The tree seemed to have popped out of nowhere. The driver of the van – who was the same man who drove the plane – had stupidly dozed off at the wheel. He hadn't had much sleep the past day, and driving was more tiring than one may think. Piloting the plane from an airport in South Africa to New York took just under eighteen hours. And the van trip had taken what seemed hours, too. So, all in all, the man was very tired.

As he dozed off, his limp arms that leant against it turned the steering wheel, which caused the van to drive slightly into the wrong side of the road. The driver of the four-by-four on the over side of the road beeped the horn loudly in alert. This caused the driver of the van to jump wide-awake and grip the steering wheel tightly. He let out a scream in panic, and swerved to the right. That was when the tree 'appeared'.

Cutting it close, he swerved once more, this time towards the left, to avoid the tree. And it did... most of it. The front of the plain van dodged the tree-trunk just fine, but the bottom half didn't. The side of the van, right at the back, collided with the tree in a second flat. Unfortunately for the driver, the back doors flew open, throwing empty cages out. But not just the empty cages.

The two cages occupied with African Penguins tumbled out and onto the road. The cages had landed on the hard tarmac, before they rolled onto the soft grass along a path. The collision with the road had the penguins aching in pain as their bodies hit the hard surface through the gaps in the cages.

The van had driven off, not realizing that its cargo had been 'disposed of'.

* * *

_**Kaleb's POV**_

Ouch. Now that hurt. It wasn't until we were safe on the grass that I realized we were _nowhere_ near home. All around us was just buildings and roads. No sign of the ocean or the beach. Some birthday this was turning out to be…

I looked around for Adi. She was lying on her side in the cage, and I was reassured she was conscious when she tried to get up. She looked awful though, and I'm pretty sure I did too. Her feathers were tattered and messy, and she had scratches all over her body. I felt a sudden stinging pain in my left flipper. I looked down and winced when I saw a lengthy cut. It wasn't bleeding too much, but it hurt like nobody's business.

My sister was able to scamper to the side of her cage closest to me. She looked at me in panic and worry, like she always does whenever I'm hurt.

"Kaleb… are you o-okay?" she asked between deep breaths, clutching the bars of her cage. I made sure she knew I was okay and that the cut on my flipper didn't hurt _so_ much. What she didn't know won't hurt her, right?

* * *

_**Nobody's POV**_

A curious, rather plump woman had been strolling by and saw the event unfold before her eyes. She waddled over to the two cages, her face full of concern. "Oh my…" she said under her breath when she saw the two birds. She quickly brought out her phone – other people had gathered around by this point, nosily – and dialed a number.

The call was quickly answered and the lady spoke to the person on the other side, "Hello, um, I need your help… yes… yeah, there's a couple of penguins here… they're both caged… okay…" she quickly gave them details on where they were, and requested for them to hurry as fast as they could. She ended the call and stayed with the penguins until the rescuers had arrived.

Once they had turned up, they carefully picked the cages up by the loose handles, and carried them to their rescue van. Strapping their cages down, like a human with a seatbelt, they shut up the back and bolted the door – just like the animal trader hadn't done.

One of the two rescuers hopped into the front of the van, sitting in the passenger seat, as her co-worker sat at the wheel. "African Penguins… Wow," she spoke, a bit confused and stunned. She had never encountered penguins in her line of work before, "Wonder how they got over here…"

"Evidence of cruel animal trade is what I'm thinkin'," the driver observed, speaking with a strong New York accent. He spoke as if he had seen this type of thing before. He started the engine and drove down the road.

The blonde lady nodded, thinking that was probably the case. "I'm sure the zoo will take good care of them," she noted, looking off in the distance through the window.

The driver nodded his head, agreeing, "Mhmm. I'm sure Central Park will accept them. They have four penguins already; I don't see why two more could 'urt. Plus, these are African. It'll bring more visitors to the place."

The lady nodded again, absent-mindedly, distracted by her thoughts. But what she didn't know was that what she was about to do – giving the penguins to the Central Park Zoo – would entitle more than she, or anyone, had been anticipating…

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. If not then advice is taken gratefully. I'll post the next chapter ASAP and hope to see you return for it. PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Quick random question (I'll probably do these at the end of each chapter): Which penguin is your favourite and why? I'm just curious. :)**


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